1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an endoscope treatment instrument stopper which is fitted in a channel opening of a treatment instrument insertion channel provided in an endoscope and inserts in an air-tight manner a treatment instrument from the treatment instrument insertion channel opening into the treatment instrument insertion channel and to a treatment instrument stopper section forming the endoscope treatment instrument stopper.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, in observation and treatment in a body cavity using an endoscope, a liquid medicine is injected into the body cavity from a treatment instrument insertion channel provided in the endoscope and a treatment instrument is inserted thereinto to cut and extract a diseased portion.
In the treatment using an endoscope, contaminants and air in the body cavity can be flowed backward through the treatment instrument insertion channel due to changes in pressure in the body cavity to be leaked out to the outside from the channel opening of the treatment instrument insertion channel. A stopper section is fitted in the channel opening of the treatment instrument insertion channel of the endoscope to prevent the contaminants and air flowed backward through the treatment instrument insertion channel from being leaked out.
The stopper section fitted in the channel opening of the treatment instrument insertion channel is of a reuse type which can be reused by being cleaned and sterilized after use or of a disposal type which cannot be reused by collapsing the stopper section fitted in the channel opening of the treatment instrument insertion channel for use when removed from the channel opening.
The reuse type stopper section must be cleaned and sterilized for each use. Its cleaning and sterilization management is troublesome. The disposal type stopper section is preferred. The disposal type stopper section, as proposed in Japanese Utility Model Application Laid-Open (JP-U) No. H03-101908, has a stopper body formed of an elastic member and including an upper stopper body and a lower stopper body, a stopper frame formed of a member relatively harder than that of the stopper body and housing and holding the stopper body, an engagement portion formed in the stopper frame and engaging the stopper frame to a channel opening of a treatment instrument insertion channel, a tearing formed in the stopper frame and tearing the stopper frame by a force when the stopper section is removed from the channel opening, and an opening unit formed in the stopper frame to be connected to the tearing.